Dangerous Dark Creatures
by Kerd151
Summary: A two-chapter story, the first chapter is on the Marauders finding out that Remus is a werewolf and deciding to become Animagi. The second is when they confront Remus with their new-found knowledge. It's been a bit over-done, but I felt a compelled to write it! My first fanfic, Please R&R! (Also, there's no slash/ pairings just Marauder friendship!) :) COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters, places etc. within it… All hail Queen Rowling :). This is my very first fanfic which I've recently edited (just because I wrote it a while ago), Thanks for reading! Reviews are to me what chocolate is to Remus :D!**

"_Pre-lunar effects of Lycanthropy can most strongly be noted one to two days before the rise of the full moon where the werewolf may experience joint pain, sickness and fever. It may also experience mood changes and extreme lethargy. It is at this time that the werewolves mind digresses in to that of the wolf and it develops a strong taste for human flesh, often viciously attacking humans who cross their path" **Dangerous Dark Creatures, p179**_

Sirius scoffed as he looked over at a sleeping Remus who looked as if standing up would need considerable effort. He also noted that Remus' cheeks were a burning red and dark circles rimmed his tired eyes. He lay perfectly still, as if the slightest movement would cause him pain. Of course, by this point, Sirius knew that Remus was a werewolf. He had spoken with James and Peter two weeks ago and convinced them of his theory. They had all agreed that it would be best to wait until after this month's full moon to confront him, just to be absolutely sure. He thought back to the conversation between the three of them:

_"James?" Sirius bounded in to the dorm, with rather serious news to share. The dorm was strewn with clothes and pieces of parchment and trying to make his way over to James was like making his way through a dangerous obstacle course._

_"Hmm?" James replied, not looking up._

_"I found out what's up with Remus" Sirius told him, breathless from running all the way from the library to Gryffindor tower. _

_"Enlighten me" James said sarcastically with a look of complete disbelief on his face. _

_"He's a werewolf" Sirius told him seriously._

_James looked at him like he'd grown an extra nose. "You're insane, Black!" he laughed heartily, rolling his eyes. He shook his head, which made his messy black hair fall in front of his face. Sirius sighed._

_"Really? Well think about it James. He leaves once every month at the full moon, looking all ill and pale, comes back the next day looking even worse and has loads of cuts and scars all over him and he always looks really guilty when we ask where he was. Pretty obvious, really" Sirius explained, quite determined to prove his point to the other boy._

_Of course, at first he hadn't believed it. But he'd been marking the days Remus was leaving in order to solve the mystery of his constant disappearances. Then, when he was discreetly trying to copy Evans' Astronomy homework, he'd noticed the pattern of the full moon matched the pattern of Remus leaving. He had rushed to the library to find out more about werewolves. It was the first (and possibly, last) time Sirius Black had ever rushed to the library._

_James looked over at Sirius thoughtfully. "I didn't realise he left every full moon…" he said, an expression of curiosity on his face._

_"No, neither did I! Until I started writing the dates when he left and then I noticed it when Evans was doing Astronomy homework" Sirius explained quickly. He noticed that James was starting to believe his theory._

_"Evans? Where did you see her?" James asked, suddenly intrigued just by the mere mention of Lily Evans._

_"Erm, hello James, more important matters to attend to right now…" Sirius said in disbelief. Why the hell would James care about bloody Evans in a time like this?_

_"Lily's hair was nice today" James said, smiling a bit and looking quite entranced in his thoughts about Lily._

_"JAMES!" Sirius shouted shaking the boys shoulder as he attempted to bring James back to the matter at hand. James looked over quickly and Sirius raised his eyebrows at him._

_"Sorry, sorry. Right, what are we going to do about Remus then?" James said, seemingly focussed now._

_"What'd you mean?" Sirius questioned._

_"Well, I think we should tell him we know. In fact, why hasn't he told us anyway?" James said. There was a sudden flash of annoyance apparent in his voice._

_"He thinks we'd hate him" Sirius sighed, and he suddenly felt guilty for the endless questions they'd asked Remus when he appeared after each full moon, knowing now why he was reluctant to tell them the truth._

_"How'd you know that?" James asked in disbelief. _

_"James, do you actually have a brain or has it been mushed by our dear Lilykins? Werewolves… y'know, not generally liked by witches and wizards… Does that ring a bell at all?" Sirius stated, his voice dripping in sarcasm and this realisation seemed to suddenly dawn on James. _

_"Yes but we're his friends! Merlin, I can't believe he's a werewolf. I mean, out of all of us, it's Remus, the quiet one!" James told him, looking quite awed._

_"Well, y'know what they say, James, it's the quiet ones you have to watch" Sirius said, grinning._

_"Hi guys" Peter suddenly walks in to the dorm, eating a bar of chocolate as he made his way through the obstacle course to sit on the bed next to them._

_"Hey Peter" James said, smiling._

_"Hi Peter" Sirius grinned._

_"We better tell him as well" James said and Sirius nodded._

_"Oh well, yeah. Peter, Remus is a werewolf" Sirius stated simply and James rolled his eyes._

_"W-what!?" Peter said; his watery blue eyes were wide in disbelief._

_"Yeah, right? Who'd have thought it!" James said. They were all still in a state of shock._

_"W-well what are we going to do?" Peter asked hurriedly, looking between the two of them for guidance._

_"Well… Nothing. We'll wait till after the next full moon and then we'll tell him we know" Sirius said and both James and Peter nod in agreement._

_"Then what?" Peter asked, waiting for more information._

_"What do you mean?" James said, confused._

_"Werewolves are dangerous…" Peter said._

_"Don't be stupid, Peter. This is Remus Lupin we're talking about" Sirius said, annoyed._

_"Yes, I know that but…" Peter started but James interrupted._

_"But nothing! He's our friend. End of discussion"_

_"Right, of course. Your right." Peter said._

_"Werewolves are pretty cool" James stated. _

_"Right, James. What's cool about the state he comes back in every month?" Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes._

_"Shut up, that's not what I mean… There must be something we can do to help him…" James said thoughtfully. There must have been something, right? Because Remus did look pretty awful after the full moon and there must be something that could help him. If they could help him, they would help him._

_"We could keep him company then, at the full moon…" Peter said, looking rather guilty about his previous statement. Sirius smiled. Peter was alright, he just sometimes needed a push in the right direction. However, he rolled his eyes at his friends comment._

_"You're mental, Peter. You do realise he'd kill us? And I mean literally kill us!" Sirius said incredulously. _

_"He might be on to something there actually…" James said thoughtfully and both Sirius and Peter look at him with their eyebrows raised._

_"Are you crazy, James?" Sirius asked and he was genuinely wondering if James had gone insane._

_"No… I mean, animals aren't in any danger from werewolves. So what if we were animals, y'know, like Animagi?" James said with an enthusiastic grin on his face. _

_"Ohh" Sirius hadn't thought of that, but now that James had suggested it, it really did seem like a great idea. And animals can't really be hurt by werewolves._

_"It is illegal" Sirius said, though he was grinning now._

_"So what!" James rolled his eyes._

_"So it's a great idea! You realise we can't tell him though?" Sirius said._

_"Why not?" Peter asked curiously._

_"Come on, Remus would freak out. He's already going to freak out that we know" Sirius told them as he rolled his eyes._

_"That's true" James agreed, laughing slightly._

_"Hey, Sirius?" James asked, suddenly._

_"Yeah?" Sirius replied._

_"You do think Lily's hair was nice today, don't you?" he asked. Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed._

_"It was stunning, yes. Thinking of it for myself actually, need a bit of a change" he smirked, running his fingers through his hair._

It was almost the next full moon and the three of them were prepared to tell Remus that they knew about his secret. And although Sirius was disappointed that Remus had kept this a secret from his best friends for so long, he thought he could understand why. In wizarding society, werewolves aren't trusted and are regarded by most as monsters, dark creatures whose hunger for human flesh made them extremely dangerous. _What, Remus, seriously!?_ Sirius' own family regarded werewolves as nothing more than "filthy half breeds" who were vastly inferior to "normal" wizards. Not that he cared about what they thought, in fact if the Blacks hated you, it was usually a sign that you were doing well in life. Besides, normal's boring, right?

Having spent over a year and a half with Remus Lupin, he could never regard him as a monster. More so, Sirius really wished their plans to become Animagi would come to fruition and he hoped beyond hope that this would help Remus. The full moon was tonight and though it was only two in the afternoon, the effect on Remus was rather obvious. For a twelve year old boy, he looked so tired and frail. His usual positive demeanour was gone and he was quiet and withdrawn. Scars criss-crossed his pale skin, a mixture of old and fresh, each symbolic of the ferocious hold of the full moons curse.

"You're not actually reading, are you Sirius?" Remus croaked sleepily, his voice a mixture of amusement and concern, a soft smile playing on his lips. Sirius, glad his somber thoughts had been interrupted, shut the open book on his lap and shook his head mournfully. "Of course not Loopy, what'd you take me for, you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry, I was doing an edit of this story and I deleted the chapter instead of editing it. It's not a new chapter; just an updated one and this story will still remain a two-shot :), thanks for reading!**

_"…apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth… and they didn't desert me at all." - Remus Lupin (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban)_

"Wow, he looks terrible!" Sirius exclaimed loudly and James elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up Sirius, you'll wake him up!" James whispered loudly and Sirius sighed.

"That's why we're here is it not, James?" Sirius said as he rolled his eyes.

"Uh yeah, right, cloak off then" James said, pulling the thin fabric from them.

With that, the three boys became visible and sat on the crisp white bed in which their best friend lay. He did indeed look terrible. Deep cuts lacerated his arms and torso, blood red against his pale white skin. He was sleeping on his side, knees up to his chest, his breathing quick and raspy. The three of them looked at each other in shock. They had never saw Remus this soon after the full moon.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Peter asked, looking at Remus with concern and fear in his eyes.

"Well, he goes through this every month so I don't imagine this month is any different…" Sirius said, looking at Remus and thinking that they'd better make a start on their plans to become Animagi, the sooner the better, it seemed.

James tapped him softly on the shoulder and he winced at the contact before slowly opening his eyes then widening them in shock.

"Alright Remus, how was the full moon?" Sirius asked nonchalantly, biting his lip and fidgeting with his hands nervously. Remus paled significantly and James sighed at Sirius' very obvious lack of tact. He knew he should have been the one to start this conversation.

"W-what?" he stammered nervously, trying to take in the sudden, surprising news that they knew.

They actually knew. They knew his darkest secret. He'd tried so hard to keep it from them since they'd became friends, knowing they would hate him if they ever found out. But now they knew. And they'd never want to be friends with a werewolf, a monster. They had probably already told everyone or would do so as soon as they left the Hospital Wing. He would have to leave Hogwarts… the only place he had ever felt truly happy and accepted. He realised bitterly that if everyone in Hogwarts knew of his condition it would no longer be the place of acceptance and safety he'd grown to know it as. He wanted to stay in Hogwarts… at least to get his OWL's. He would have to deny it, convince them that they were wrong.

"I don't know what you mean. I-" But before he could say anything more, James interrupted him;

"For Merlin's sake Remus, don't you think you've lied to us enough? We know that you're a werewolf. There's no point in denying it. You must have known we'd figure it out eventually" he sighed.

James felt bad for Remus but he didn't want him to lie to them anymore. Besides, it would be much easier for him to not have to lie to them every month. He didn't care that he was a werewolf. He thought it was pretty cool, really. And he knew that they would become Animagi for him. He didn't know how long it would take them, it could take years, but he knew, in that moment, that they would do it. They would do it for Remus, because Remus had done so much for them and he deserved this. And because he couldn't stand to see one of his best friends look so hurt and he would do anything to help him.

Remus was trembling by this point. He didn't know what they would do. He hoped they'd leave him alone with his thoughts. He needed time. He needed time to convince them to let him stay. He knew they couldn't be friends but he didn't want to have to leave Hogwarts. He never ever thought he'd get the chance to go to Hogwarts and he really didn't want that chance taken away from him in only his second year. However, if Remus was honest, he knew the three of them would find out eventually. They were too smart and inquisitive to let his constant disappearances go on without finding out the exact reason. He sighed. He supposed he still had great memories of his short time at Hogwarts, though he pleaded with them anyway.

"Please don't tell anyone! I-I'll move dorms, y-you won't have to speak to me… I uh I just don't want to leave" he said quietly, staring at his hands which were trembling and he felt his cheeks flush red.

He didn't dare look at their faces. He dreaded to see what they're reaction was. He didn't want to see what emotion was held in their eyes – disgust, hate, fear, those were how people normally reacted when they found out he was a monster. To look at them was to feel the sting of their reaction, feel their hate and fear palpable in the thick air surrounding them. And he just couldn't bear to see those emotions on the faces of his three best friends. They meant everything to him. They were his first real friends and he'd grown to think of them as brothers.

Sirius sighed angrily "What kind of friends do you think we are? You don't have to move dorms and we aren't going to tell anyone! We're your friends for Merlin's sake!" Sirius was definitely getting angry, the infamous Black temper taking hold of him.

He was feeling bad for Remus and therefore he was angry; it was the only way he knew how to respond. He was angry at Remus for thinking they would abandon him and he was angry at everyone else for making him think this way. He exhaled slowly. Really, he _knew_ that Remus would react like this. They probably should have waited until at least a few days after the full moon but they were quite impatient and liked things done sooner rather than later.

Remus looked up at him, incredulous, "You still want to be friends with me? Live with me? I'm a werewolf, you said so yourself, a dark creature, I'm dangerous!" He looked down at his hands before adding in a small voice "I'm a monster". Remus looked at them, they had to be joking. No-one in their right minds would want to live with a werewolf!

"You're bloody not a monster, Remus!" James declared, annoyed. "You're a werewolf. We don't care, seriously; in fact it's pretty cool. Our friend- a werewolf!" he cried, almost triumphantly.

Sirius rolled his eyes before adding "Yeah you aint gonna get rid of us that easily Loopy! Besides, we brought you something" He reached into his pocket and produced a bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate.

"You're a chocolate addict, I figured it'd help you feel better" he grinned handing the chocolate to the boy.

Remus took the chocolate and stared at the three of them in shock. He had never truly contemplated that they might still want to be his friends after finding out his secret – the secret he'd tried so hard to keep from them, thinking it would end their friendship if they knew. He always thought they'd shun him, who'd want to be friends with a dark creature? The three boys in the room stared at him, no hate or disgust in their eyes, only worry. They were actually worried about him. They didn't hate him like he thought they would have. They were worried about him, they _cared _about him.

"You _really_ still want to be friends with me?" he said smiling slightly now though he was still incredulous and finding it slightly hard to believe.

"And he's finally getting it" smirked Sirius as he rolled his eyes.

"Of course we do!" added James, grinning.

"Definitely" agreed Peter, smiling.

Remus was astonished that his best friends knew his secret and yet still wanted to be friends with him. Remus had realised, at the tender age of five, just how different life was when you were cursed with Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy had many physical effects on his body, it caused him a lot of pain every month of his life, however, what hurt even more was just how different he was and just how little society was prepared to offer him. This was why he found it difficult to contemplate their acceptance of him, because he experienced such acceptance so rarely in his life. He had never expected them to still want to be his friends and he would always be grateful to them for accepting him. They really were the best friends he'd ever had.

"You're all mental!" he laughed.

"Would you have it any other way?" Sirius said, still grinning.

"Of course not" he laughed.

Soon he would come to realise that the revelation of his secret wouldn't end their friendship as he had once feared, it would strengthen it more than he could ever have hoped for.


End file.
